Long-term monitoring of medical conditions such as diabetes presents challenges for both patients and medical care providers. Traditional methods that require the patient to repeatedly obtain and test blood or other fluids can be painful and inconvenient, and this may lead to reduced compliance on the part of the patient.
Implantable sensors developed to mitigate these drawbacks have been expensive, bulky, require a power source or specialized reader, or lack the necessary mechanical strength to remain functional within the patient for extended periods of time. In addition, such sensors may be difficult to remove several weeks after implantation.
A large number of people with diabetes have end stage renal disease (ESRD). ESRD can also develop as a result of chronic hypertension, polycystic kidney disease, and a number of other conditions, and can dramatically affect lifespan and quality of life in diabetic patients. However, very little is being done at present to manage this condition, which requires frequent monitoring of renal function. The monitoring of renal function is especially problematic in patients receiving dialysis treatments, which can result in low blood analyte concentrations and blood test results that are difficult to interpret accurately. While the dialysate from the patient can be tested for some analytes, this type of testing may not properly reflect the concentration of creatinine and BUN still residing in the body. There is no acknowledged analysis system available that can be used to determine the toxin state of the body before, during and after dialysis. For these reasons, it can be very difficult to monitor the health of ESRD patients. Poor disease management is a primary factor in the relatively short survival time of patients diagnosed with ESRD.